Keratinophilic fungi from the feathers of Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) in Maharastra India.

A total of 70 feathers samples of Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) were collected from 7 Emu farms situated at two districts (Raigad and Thane) of Maharashtra (India) and screened for resident keratinophilic fungi. Among them, 44 isolates were recovered and identified by evaluating characteristic macro- and micro-morphological features. Further gene products corresponding to the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA region from all isolates were amplified and sequenced. Homology search was performed using BLAST program against non-redundant nucleotide database, and significantly matched DNA sequences deposited to the NCBI Gene Bank for reference purposes. Eight identified fungal species belongs to 7 different genera named as Aphanoascus terreus Ac_MW577456 (21.43%), Microsporum gypseum Ac_MW580920 (14.29%), Ctenomyces serratus Ac_MW577459 (10.0%), Uncinocarpus orissi Ac_MW577461 (5.17%), Aphanoascus verrucosus Ac_MW577458 (4.29%), Gymnascella dankaliensis Ac_MW577460 (2.86%), Gymnoascoideus petalosporus Ac_MW577462 (2.86%) and Arthroderma tuberculatum Ac_MW577457 (1.43%).

Characterization of cecal microbiota of the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae).

Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae), large flightless ratites native to Australia, are farmed for their fat and meat. They are omnivorous and feed on a wide variety of plants and insects. Despite having a relatively simple gastrointestinal tract and a short digesta retention time, emus are able to digest a significant portion of the ingested dietary neutral detergent fibre. However, nothing is known about the microbial diversity in their gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we evaluated the phylogenetic diversity of the cecal microbiota of four emus (2 males, 2 females) that were fed a barley-alfalfa-canola based diet, using 454 pyrosequencing after amplification for V3-V5 region of bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Emus were slaughtered in early November, just prior to the onset of their breeding season, but after the seasonal decline in their feed intake had begun. A total of 822 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (335.3 ± 70.5 OTUs/sample) belonging to 9 bacterial phyla were identified. The most predominant bacterial phyla were Bacteroidetes (≈ 57% of total classified diversity), Proteobacteria (≈ 24%), Fusobacteria (≈ 11.3%), and Firmicutes (≈ 7%). Our results indicate that the emus' ceca may have a higher microbial richness (Chao1: 624 ± 170 OTUs, and ACE: 586 ± 161 OTUs) than other species of birds, but they have a lower microbial diversity (Shannon diversity index: 3.4 ± 0.2, Simpson index: 0.79 ± 0.02), possibly reflecting their decrease feed intake. This is the first study to characterize the microbial community of the gastrointestinal tract of a ratite using pyrosequencing, providing a baseline for further study.

Characterization of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae isolates from poultry, pigs, emus, the poultry red mite and other animals.

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is the causative agent of erysipelas in mammals and birds, especially pigs and poultry. In order to investigate the suitability of different subtyping methods for genetic and phenotypic similarities among Swedish isolates of the organism, 45 isolates from poultry (n=23), pigs (n=17), emus (n=2) and the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae (n=3) were investigated by serotyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene was performed on eleven isolates from nine animal species. The results indicated a random scattering of serotypes throughout the dendrogram based on PFGE banding patterns following SmaI digestion. In three cases, isolates with an identical PFGE pattern were of differing serotypes. No differentiation into subgroups by antimicrobial susceptibility testing by broth microdilution was possible as results were similar for all isolates. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations for most antimicrobials, including penicillin and oxytetracycline, were low. The 16S rRNA gene sequences (1443 nts) from eight of eleven selected isolates of Erysipelothrix spp. were identical to that of the type strain E. rhusiopathiae ATCC 19414(T). The other three isolates differed from the type strain by two or three nucleotides. While this method may be useful for identification of Erysipelothrix spp., it is unsuitable for epidemiological investigations. Similarities in PFGE banding patterns between isolates from chickens and mites supported the hypothesis that D. gallinae may act as a reservoir and vector for E. rhusiopathiae. Further PFGE studies on E. rhusiopathiae isolates are appropriate to investigate the epidemiology of poultry erysipelas.